IAMA comedian and musician Danny Tamberelli. I was Little Pete and a cast member of All That. I worked from 6-18 with Nickelodeon. Now I play in bands, write sketch comedy and enjoy Woody Harrelson movies...

why'd you have me removed? I WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO DANCE FOR YOU!

think how streched and wrinkled Petunia would be if I actually got it when I was 7. I dont know if youve seen me lately but she'd have a foopa...Nobody wants that

danny, baby -- you're beautiful. i'll jounce with you any time.

miss you baby!

Tell them to release season 3 of Pete and Pete on dvd.

sent

When I was a kid I desperately wanted to be friends with Little Pete. That show was a very formative part of my childhood, so thanks for the memories. Now my question: How did you feel when you were told Artie was going to be written off the show? (If you acknowledge my existence by answering this question, I am going to tell people that I met you and we hung out.)

I was sad. I loved Toby, he was the man and we woud just goof off all day. I was sad like all of you. Note: Toby gave me my first cigarette. He denies to this day but he did.

You heard it here, folks. Artie was kicked off of Pete and Pete for giving Danny Tamberelli cigarettes.

hahahaha, nobody knew it was Toby. Everyone knew I smoked butts on the set though. I used to make the PA who drove me to work give me cigs and blast superchunk. He later became the Editor for SPIN magazine.

next time Superchunk has a reunion show in Chapel Hill (they are the most badass shows) you should come down and let me buy you a beer.

would love to come to their hometown rager shows. I'll be waiting on the beer

I just kinda need to hi-jack this comment real quick and tell you that I think you're sexy. That is all.

successful highjack

Do you know the missing lyric from Hey Sandy??

i'll never tell. Its prolly what you think it is though.

If it's not "Could you settle to shoot me?" I would be very surprised.

That's what I always thought it was too but I've never been able to find confirmation... I figured my childhood idol, Danny is as close to a resident expert we're gonna get

Can you settle a sure bet?

Danny, between P&P and All That, you are arguably the king of 90s nick. As of late, its incredibly popular for people in their late teens/early 20s to annoyingly circlejerk (obsess over how awesome) the 90s were. Since you are on the inside looking out, would you say this is all over-hyped nostalgia? Also, whats the backstory to the big ear of corn? Where is it now?

90's nick was a product of talented and creative staff and writers. People like Will McRobb, Katherine Dieckman and Chris Viscardi from P&P and Tommy Lynch (Alex Mack) as well as Brian Robbins and Dan Schneider. These people along with Nick president Gerry Layborne (sp?) were blazing trails. Thats why I think there is such a resurgence of the 90's shows. Those shows werent cookie cutter shows. There was depth and substance that seemed to have affected many people. Myself included

And the corn? We need to know.

Corn went when Lori Beth left didnt it? If not, I know she knows something

Hey Danny! Thanks so much for doing this!

Here's something that's bothered me since I was a kid: How much of "Figure It Out" was staged?

On some episodes it seemed like the answer was incredibly obvious and you guys were losing on purpose (like, if the clue was the mimes barking like dogs, you all would answer "lobsters" or "yogurt eating"). Then sometimes you guys would blow it out of the water and get the whole answer right on the first round, so the kid went home with barely anything. I always wondered if there was some quota of winners/losers you had to fill.

Were there some kids you were rooting for and would try to let win (conversely: were there some kids you just hated and tried to make lose)? Or was it totally random based on how you felt that day?

hahaha, totally random. I pretty much judged the confidence level of the kid and whether or not they thought they were too smart for us. Then I'd go extra hard to guess it. Most of the time though I wanted the kids to go to Smugglers notch and get a piece of the agro grag

I don't have a question, I just want to say i'm sorry I used to always throw burger king trash in you're driveway when you lived on Bay Rd. I feel bad for that now, that is all.

hahahaha, thats amazing. good thing it would just blow towards Belchertown

Since you enjoy Woody Harrelson movies, how did you like Rampart?

hahaha, best all time. I watched it as much as I watched Lynch's Inland Empire

I was a big fan of The Mighty Ducks and enjoyed the series. What caused you to not be involved with the 2nd or 3rd movies? And do you still keep in touch from any of the guys from the original Ducks?

I was too short to be in the 2nd movie bc they were going to the junior olymics and I still looked 8. I have talked to Josh Jackson once in a while and Aaron Shwartz who was also in Pete and Pete

Do you wish you were fat as a kid so you could have been in Heavy Weights?

i tested for heavyweights and wasnt fat enough. If they reboot it now though, im a shoe in

I have this idea that Nickelodeon is super strict with the child-actors.

Do you have any stories where you were punished for being a kid?

not at all man, Nick was super cool and very relaxed as opposed to the "Rat" channel. I did get in trouble on Pete and Pete during the Range Boy episode where 12yr old me drove a gas powered ball picker upper thing all over the Nutley NJ driving range during lunch. People were pissed

TIL the nickname that Team Nickelodeon holds for The Disney Channel ...

and I love it.

fuck right!

When you were playing the younger pete, how did they manage to keep the tattoo of Petunia on you? Was it a stamp, or did and artist have to repaint it on you before every shoot?

Good question! They had the full color ones for a long time until they ran out. Then they got a stencil made and had temporary tattoo paint to color it in. I had to wear saran wrap on my arm after shooting and to take a shower until the shoot was finished. I had a dirty forearm most of production

Do you have any vital information for my everyday life?

Colorado Kool aid is slang for Coors Original made popular by the outlaw country stylings of Johnny Paycheck, and I will only be fielding questions on Rampart.

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i did get to drink underage at a couple spots in LA. I did get to drink, make out briefly and see some 17yr old Jessica Biel boobs. My favorite after Kids Choice Awards moment. At least I think it was her...Thats my story. My friend also made us all really good NJ fake ID's

You can't mention 17 year old Jessica Biel boobs and not go into details. Info sir!

those were all the details i got. It was a brief flash. It was like my first encounter at a strip club where you realize you can look but cant touch...We used to chill when I lived in LA, but that was the only encounter of lips and boobs. detailed enough? I feel like i just took all the mystique out of it

Hey Danny, I'm a late 20's-something and grew up watching you on Nick. Holy shit man, you're right, those were not cookie cutter shows, they had some real depth to them and I still think about all of those wonderful shows to this day.

What was it like working with Iggy Pop?

we used to eat lunch together almost every day he was on the set. Talked about how he got his nickname from working in a pet store and about touring and drugs and stuff. People never treated me like a child, they always just talked to me like a peer so I was privy to a lot of TMI on the part of adults. I cant blame them though, because I didnt act like a normal child.

Put yourself back in the mindset of Arnold from The Magic School Bus:

how does it feel to have a school bus full of your classmates inside of you?

It felt nice to know that some people on that bus that i didnt like got to go through my bowels.

Who didn't you like? It seemed like everyone got along, but we also didn't see behind the scenes.

we all did for the most part. As I said earlier, i was in the middle so I was the older kid to the younger crowd and the youngest of the older crowd so I got my fair share of getting fucked with but there was never any hate.

Ok. Thanks for doing this, and great bass playing!

appreciate it!

Have you actually been researching reddit to drop that Woody Harrelson reference, or are you a redditor now? One of us?

Do you still talk to your on-screen brother, the other pete? Anyone else from the show?

I am a reddit reader...thats how I knew about that harrelson interview. As far as Mike, big pete, we hang once in a while in brooklyn. It can get weird though at a bar when we are both sitting there. Sometimes theres a leprechaun and a pot of gold in the bar

have you ever heard that john stamos and bob sagget hang out together and go up to kids and their 20's in the bathroom and they go to the urinals on either side of the guy and have conversations in character. if you and mike maronna did that it would be the ultimate mind f.

I will keep this in mind for next time we chill, thats fucking hilarious

What does Nickelodeon slime taste like?

like pudding, food coloring, water and icy cold refreshness

Has being a "Pete" ever got you laid?

Its gotten me a fair amount of women for sure. Using lines like these, "Who wants to see my Big pete? " "You ever been slimed? Want to?"

Who was your favorite nickelodeon cast member on your shows to work with?

I have been friends with Kenan and Mike Maronna since I was single digits and still talk and hang out with them here in NYC. I teach Kenan guitar lessons right now. On All That, I was the youngest of the old kids and the oldest of the younger kids so I tended to hang with the older kids but also Mark Saul, a younger cast member and I were writing partners on the 6th season and got a few sketches onto the screen

Did you see Mark Saul's gum advertisement with the Tiger? I saw it and was freaked out because I haven't seen him on anything in years.

i did, it was awesome! Hes on Greys Anatomy as well

Wait, you guys actually wrote for All That?

Was that common, or was it just something you tried after being on the show for a few years?

it wasnt common at all. We were the only 2 cast members with WGA writers credit and got paid for our sketches. It was a great experience and obviously helped Mark to write for Greys Anatomy as well. As for me, I guess my manboobs are my all that sketches all grown up, or all grown adolescent

I met you at the Library in the east village 5 years ago. You asked me if I wanted to go to a baseball game and I gave you my number. Why didn't you call?

What? If I asked you to a baseball game youre prolly hot and maybe I overslept? Wanna goto a baseball game?

Was Figure It Out at all scripted? Also ever make out behind Billy The Answer Head?

no scripts for panelists and there was one Billy makeout sesh. He started it and in fact it was the last time Billy was on the show. I told an adult

So you and summer sanders? ever?

nah, I begged her to wait for me to grow up, but she wasn't waiting for me...still crushed a little inside

I went to Bennington College in Vermont and often heard legends about your time at school in Western MA. Did you realize then that you were possibly the most celebrated New England college student since Rivers Cuomo went to Harvard?

Also, how did you enjoy your time at Hampshire?

hahaha, I had an excellent time at Hampshire. I finished All That and was in the 2nd half of my senior year of high school. I didnt want to miss out on college so I applied early decision to NYU and to Hampshire. Got denied from NYU and got into Hampshire. 4+ years of adventures followed. Wouldnt take it back for anything

I'm so excited you're doing this!! I had the biggest crush on your growing up. I used to tell people that I was going to marry you and we were going to have redheaded babies as I am also a redhead. I would still do this. I'm sure my boyfriend wouldn't mind as he is a huge fan of yours.

What was your favorite project on Nickelodeon to film or be part of?

What was backstage of All That like?

Marry, Shag, Kill:

Billy the Answer head Petunia Kenan Thompson

hahaha, Gingers will live on!!

Pete and Pete was the coolest bc it was shot on film so it was like a 7 year movie set.

Backstage of All That had a big ass tv and Playstation where I would kick peoples asses in Madden 98'. I schooled Mase once.

Marry Petunia, Shag Billy, Kill Kenan. I think he'd be cool with that

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the bike radio. was that the 5000?

Tera Melos did a pretty rad cover of Hey Sandy, and the visual representation of the Pete & Pete intro is pretty spot-on too!
Thanks for being an awesome part of my childhood, and somehow tying into my present musical interests!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMt8HtDG8No

i have seen that! they nailed it

Hey Danny! (Fellow Danny here, up top! )

Anyways, just a few questions:

• How was working on Mighty Ducks? That whole series was crucial to my childhood, and I was just wondering what is was like since you were so young!
• Any great Figure It Out moments? Is Summer Sanders the absolute dreamy fox that she was to my ten-year-old self?
• Favorite slime action from Figure It Out? I remember toward the end they started doing things like "Be a panelist" or "Ask a question" just so the kids would get to see some slime.

Answer any you like, or none! I just love your work, from Little Pete to Jack Campbell, Fat Cop.

Danny, I became a hockey fan on Mighty Ducks. I turned 10 on the set, Emilio Estavez took us all to see Waynes World in the theaters. Was an excellent experience.

Summer is still as hot as I remember and yes the slimings were ridiculous. I was taking 4 showers a day.

Seeing how Michelle Trachtenberg turned out, do you wish you and Nona Mecklenberg had some serious onscreen romance.

Are you still friends with her ? Are you guys secretly dating because that would be icing, sweet delicious butter crea... okay sorry I'm done.

hahaha, not really. We run into each other in the city but her and Amanda Bynes were both like little sisters to me and to top it off I do have 2 little sisters in real life who was friends with them both. So I have never had that little tingling in my penis for either of them.

Seeing any Phish shows this summer?

was at the 4th, 6th and 7th.

Did you used to work at a bagel shop in NJ for a while?

I did during highschool and some of college. People get all weird about that since i was on TV, but honestly it was a good thing for me to be a normal kid with normal responsibilities. It was also a parental rule that would have made my late teens more frustrating than they already are

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playing bass with iggy pop during the dance fever episode. Taught Mike and I how to play TV eye and then we jammed it for a few minutes until my amp blew up.

Hey Danny, enormous Pete and Pete fan! I've been following all the reunion shows along with any podcast I can get my hands on. A couple of questions:

1) Did you or any of the other actors have any input into the scripts for Pete and Pete? Did you get to put any of your personality through dialogue or acting into Little Pete?

2) I sometimes wish that Pete and Pete went on for 15 seasons, but at the same time, I think you guys finished at the pinnacle. Can you give us your take on where the Pete and Pete brothers would be now (2012)?

3) Summer Sanders is a hottie

Not so much for pete and pete. But for the most part I just sort of acted like myself. Its weird too because I WAS growing up at the same time so part of me thinks that the people on Pete and Pete directly influenced my childhood and the person I am right now. I mean I havent put down a bass in 19 years. I think we finished at a good spot, I think it could have gone downhill after 15 years. the petes in 2012 are living in an apt in BK and living their own lives that intersect on occasion. Theres a bong on the table, but its a nice Jerome Baker.

What was the deal with Figure It Out? It seems like every single episode, all they wanted to do was punish you! Are you still cleaning slime out of your ass to this day?

sure am. Is that what kids are calling poop these days?

Danny Tamberelli... I used to "prank" you all the time a couple years back. My friend got your number at a 311 concert in NJ and then gave it to me. I used to call you once in a while when I was drunk. I don't know if you remember but I would ask you if you ever got to bang Summer Sanders or any of the other people on Figure It Out. Last time we spoke you were at some premiere for Hip Hop Nation? I think it was called. Then you got a new number.

Not cool, man. I would like your new one because I miss our talks. You were always a good sport about it.

hahaha, thats amazing. There have been a lot of pranksters and I thank you all. While you are drunk talking to me, I am prolly drunk too so it made for great conversation

First off, I'd like to say that I've looked up to you since I was a kid. What was your favorite part of being involved in Nickelodeon shows? Were there times when you didn't enjoy your job?

the only times i didnt enjoy working was when I was missing stuff at home. I only got tutored on the sets, I went to public school my whole life so when i had to miss parties, proms, homecomings etc. it made me sad but whatever, thats life. At least my parents were cool enough to keep me in school and play rec sports. I dont feel like most child actors who say they lost their childhood.

Hey Danny, I hear someone's been interviewing a lot of Nick folks for a book. Confirm/deny?

confirm

I watched the videos of The Blowholes reunion this past spring and was very happy to see some Polaris tunes being performed live since they have been a profound influence on my own music. Did you get to spend much time with Mark Mulcahy or the band besides the 'Hard Day's Pete' episode?

video for those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZG_qamwyk episode clip mentioned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zKyEKEs4us

Huge influence. Mark was a really cool guy who became my friend at 12. He would send me tapes and vinyl. He'd call my parents house and talk to me about music. I got into a Miracle Legion show at the Fez in NYC in 94. He really helped push me musically and I am forever grateful. We played a gig in New Haven and Mark came out and played with my band Jounce along with Mr. Ray Neal, another member of Miracle Legion

What is your favorite memory from being on All That?

having Phil Collins in the audience while im dressed as a caveman asking me for my autograph for his kid. I told him i'd trade. We did.

Easily the best AMA I've ever read.

love reddit and you people

A friend of mine went to Hampshire College with you; is it true that you went streaking on campus for Halloween? Can you elaborate?

that never happened. I did run around a few times hallucinating but from what I can recall there was no nudity. I did knock my roommate into a stream during the easter egg hunt where we would all hide kegs in the woods and run around on easter sunday getting shitfaced...Ahh, those were the days

what was the drug use like during nicks heyday? or if any at all? also i live in southern california and found out about your show at the echo in la and missed it :( will you be doing another one soon?

drinking and weed, nothing much more than that. I would get psychedelic at Phish shows but not around really any other people except my older brother Pete. We are doing another pete and pete show on 8/28 at the Orpheum in LA.

One thing I've always wondered about child stars on Nickelodeon... do you make enough money to never have to work again when you're on a hit show like Pete & Pete? Obviously I don't want numbers... just want to know if you hit the life lottery before you turned 12.

they didnt call it nickelodeon for nothing . Glad it wasnt pennylodeon. I got a lot of nice bass gear, car 4 years of college and about 6 years of NYC living. No lottery but i can hold my own.

Dude, I make a request for an IAMA and then I miss it because I'm at work. Or are you still doing this?

My question, what's your favorite memory of Pete & Pete ? (I always identified with the show because I'm a Pete)

i got ya man. One of my favorite memories was sliding down a huge block of ice down a hill in NJ. We had to do the shot 10-15 times. I was 10 or 11 and it was glorious. Thanks for the request, this has been really chill

Fuck dude, please answer this. I talked to you one the phone about 6 years ago. Your sister was at the Point Pleasant boardwalk and I was working the stands and her friends asked me to give her a free stuffed animal. I asked why should I do that, then they told me she was your sister. I said I would do it, but only if she could prove it was true. So she called you and gave me the phone. I asked what the name of the tattoo on your arm was in Pete & Pete and you promptly answered "Putunia", I knew it was you. I told you I was a huge fan and loved Pete & Pete, it was by far one of the best shows Nickelodeon ever produced. You said something like "Aww, thanks man". Your sister got that stuffed animal and I would do it again in a minute.

thats hilarious and I do remember that. Totally weird

Did they ever let you run the Aggro Crag just for fun? What about the Double Dare obstacle course? Or the Hidden Temple?

i did run around the DD obstacle course, but no climbing of the crag.

do you think you will need more than 5 colorado kool aids before this AMA is over?

im on #3. and I got another 2-3 hours. AND BUSTED! Tape_echo is this man! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=510557049249&set=t.22701257&type=3&theater

He's a Bear and my roommate. Bring more Kool aid when youre home from work brah

I also just wanted to tell you how much Pete and Pete hast meant to me. The Pete's were like my childhood friends. Growing up a lonely, shy suburban kid in the Hudson Valley, I could really relate to the show. It made me feel a lot less alone at a time when I felt like the world was against me. I always admired and envied Little Pete's courage. I met you at the NYC reunion, and meant to tell you this in person, but I was just too shy. Thanks for everything, Danny

no problem man, I felt the same way. It really did something to me and to alot of you. Im glad we can all share that and not my hep C